Suspended ceiling systems and structural supports therefore are widely used in building constructions to provide a simple ceiling system which can easily be installed in place. Although these structures function satisfactorily, they are not aesthically pleasing and fully concealed panel systems have been designed to overcome this problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,613, which issued to I. P. Jones et al, May 26, 1970, is one structure which provides a fully concealed ceiling panel system. This system utilizes a fibrous panel board having a flexible sheet material adhered to a major surface thereof, such that an edge portion of this flexible sheet extends laterally beyond the side edges of the body. The structural support elements, which position and secure the panels, are provided with a centre recess into which the overhanging sheet material may be inserted. In this manner, the panels are supported by the sheet material beneath the support elements and the support elements are not visible from the underside of the ceiling. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 through 3 of this patent, the structural elements disclosed therein cooperate with slotted recesses provided in the side edges of the fibre board of the ceiling panel to assist in supporting the panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,139, which issued to L. G. Stahlhut, Oct. 18, 1966, discloses a suspended ceiling grid system wherein the structural elements, which provide the grid system for supporting the ceiling tiles, are adapted for ease of connection. However, as can be seen in the drawings of this patent, these support members are visible from the lower side of the ceiling when the panels are installed and as such do not provide a fully concealed ceiling panel system.
Prior art systems have disclosed suspended ceiling panel systems which utilize rectangular or square shaped panels. However it is desirable in certain applications to use panels of different geometric shape. According to the present invention, a support system is provided which can be used to support hexagonal, octagonal, triangular or other geometric shaped ceiling panels.
In building construction applications long lengths of ceilings are common and this presents problems with most ceiling panel systems, whether of the fully concealed type or where the support members are visible from the underside of the ceiling. The first problem, particularly common to fully concealed panel systems, is that the abutting edges of adjacent panels are difficult to align and position at one level below the support members. This alignment problem can readily be identified from the lower side of the ceiling resulting in an inferior installation. Furthermore, differences in height are readily visible due to the light reflecting characteristics of ceiling panels and, therefore, it is important that the panels all be located at the same level beneath the support members. Although minor differences would not initially appear to be a problem, they are readily visible on a ceiling, although such difference may not be detected on a vertical wall surface. Therefore, in ceiling systems where a high quality concealed system is desired, the panels must accurately align with the grid support members and the individual panels must be positioned at one level below the support members. As can be appreciated, tolerance variations in the panels and variations due to the installer make this problem quite difficult.
The present invention seeks to mitigate these problems by providing a suspended ceiling system which accurately aligns the panels with the grid network and positions them at approximately the same level beneath these members. Furthermore, the invention provides a system wherein access to the space above the ceiling is achieved by removing any one of the tiles in a simple manner.